I plan to write about the next day of sightseeing in Saigon.
But before that, I might write a little about the little experiences. Or, in this post, a little more about the things that bother me.
So that they don’t get forgotten.
Big city, a bit empty
I’ve been living in the city for a week now as I write these thoughts. I’ve tried to get to know the area thoroughly. I’ve increased my daily walking average of 6.6 km from last year to 10.9 km in the past seven days. In other words, I’ve given the city 84 km to show me something “impressive”.
This hasn’t happened in equal measure. Either Saigon didn’t want to show me anything, or I’ve been blind the past few days. The temples are beautiful, but I think I’ve seen all the temples in the area. I’m exaggerating a bit, so I’ll tell you a little about the area.
The city has a strange quality. It’s as if I can’t go very far. For example, today I set off twice just going straight, so I get quite far. It’s quite natural during my random walks that after a while I don’t even know where I am. But today, both times, I suddenly found myself on the street where I live.
Plus, I found the place where – if I remember correctly – the bus dropped me off when I arrived here in Saigon. I was so happy! I thought I would have to walk a long way home from here. It turned out that the hostel is two blocks away.
I’ll try to just go straight on the weekend, but I don’t believe that there are long straight roads here anymore. LOL. I’m walking around the streets, I’m like a boomerang.
There are also a lot of shops in the area, and a lot of fancy restaurants. But I can hardly find a bench where I can sit down and enjoy the sunshine for a bit. Or even a small street food stall.
The vendors
Despite all my patience, all the politeness and respect I showed in my article “Behavior LEGO”, the vendors are starting to get on my nerves. I had to realize that these people don’t care at all about what I say. There’s always a standup that looks like a dialogue, with less than funny outcomes.
Today, for example, a sunglasses vendor was quite tiring. These people hang a huge furniture board around their necks with a string and carry it next to their bodies. The board is full of sunglasses hanging on it. The board is not only good for carrying and showing off a lot of goods. It’s also good for blocking the road with it.
So there’s no escape. They always start the wedding dance by saying “cheaper”. Not cheap, cheaper. I’ll figure out what it’s cheaper than. I’ve met all the vendors in the area, I think twice. So, I politely say, wai, bow, hand on heart and a huge smile, “no thanks.” Despite this, the good man keeps pointing. He takes off his own glasses so I can try them on. I tell him I don’t wear sunglasses. (Really, I don’t.) Then he takes out a white one. Thank you, no. He shows me the red frame, how slim it is. Thank you, no. After the 5th pair of glasses, he takes out the lighter. This lighter is so cute. You have to pull a little lighter out of it, drag it along the side and this stick starts burning. It’s really special. The little metal box even has Vietnam engraved on it. The only problem is that I’ve seen it twenty times. And I’ve said no twenty times.
After he understands with great difficulty that he doesn’t need the lighter, he goes back to the glasses. Today I found myself telling the man – although I doubt he understood – that I’ve heard this show so many times that I don’t want to continue it anymore. After my 10th nos, he finally gave up.
Two days ago, a shoe repair guy came up to me. I immediately told him that I didn’t want anything. But he – professional injury – immediately noticed that the toe of my shoe was torn. Before I could blink twice, he knelt down in front of me, grabbed my ankle and started pressing instant glue into my shoe. It was like a clever magic trick: I had nothing in my hand, voila, the glue was there. I had to pull my foot out of his hand. And after that, he asked where I came from. Damn, that’s the first sentence of the conversation, it doesn’t come after leaving it at the wooden statue.
My last favorite story was last night. I’m coming home peacefully. Headphones, zen, just my feet and me. Of course, the taxi driver stops me at the corner. Where am I going? I don’t bother with questions that I would have shot from the hip years ago, saying that it has nothing to do with you. I take half a minute to interrupt the lecture, and then I move on.
I tell the guy to go home. Why. Pfff. I know that in this city it can be difficult to understand why someone goes home at 11 o’clock at night. That doesn’t need explaining either, but I patiently tell him that I want to read in bed. He suggests something else.
I have a beer, he takes me to the best place. No way, I tell him. Why. Because I’m a big boy, and I know what I want to do. Now, for example, go home. But just one beer! That afternoon I managed to go far enough without getting involved with the house. Then, far away, I sat down and drank two beers. So I tell the squirrel that I’ve had two today, I don’t need any more. But it will be good, believe me.
Some other time. Then I thought that would be enough of this scene. But he changed tactics. How long have I lived here? Of course, I’m the stupid one for wanting to respond to these pointless attempts at dialogue. I tell him that I’ve been living in Asia for a year, and in Vietnam for 4 months. A victorious smile appears on his face. Then you can’t know everything. I tell him that definitely don’t, and I don’t want to.
After that, he delivered the final blow: I bet you’re not happy. Well, I had to end this show here. I put my hand on his shoulder and just said: you’d lose. Then I left.
Chopsticks
I have more pleasant memories than this.
In one of the small street restaurants, one of the owners was very nice. After I finished eating, he asked me how long I had been eating with chopsticks. I told him I had learned how to use them when I was a teenager. He asked me why. It was simply attractive, so I wanted to learn how to use them. He said I eat with them in a very professional way. I liked this attention.
I really like eating with chopsticks. In most cases, there is a box of chopsticks on the table. You just have to take them out. If there aren’t any, I’ve been given a spoon with my soup. In such cases, I feel a little offended and ask for a chopstick. There should be a limit to the touristy behavior. I’m kidding, of course, no offense. I just really like eating with chopsticks.
Yes, you have to eat the soup with a spoon here too. Or you can simply drink it from the bowl. Whatever you like.
The small vendors, who I have a hard time finding in the hustle and bustle of the many larger restaurants, are usually very grateful that I eat at their place. From this I can guess that most tourists do not choose these small street seats. If that were the case, it would not be such a great experience for them to sit there.
I feel better in these small places. Here, for example, they also notice that the two-handed handover of money is a sign of respect. In one place, the young waiter said to me: “I appreciate it, sir.”
Saigon is the second city in Vietnam that has shown me several things that do not impress me.
There are still 11 days and 2 hours for this to change. I hope that it will.
Buy me a coffee?
If you enjoyed this story, you can buy me a coffee. You don’t have to – but it means a lot and I always turn it into a new adventure.
Buy a coffee for Steve
Linktree
Short introduction